


Traveler Walks Away

by CostumersDelight (CostumerDelight)



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Drabble Gift, Fjord/Jester pining, It's just a theory, Some pining, You'll Have to Read to Find Out - Freeform, dun dun dun, just a bit, just a smidge, ko fi gift, lets go visit the astral plane, little angsty, the traveler could be...., will write for coffee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-20
Updated: 2019-04-20
Packaged: 2020-01-20 15:50:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18528208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CostumerDelight/pseuds/CostumersDelight
Summary: That night in her sketchbook, as she was keeping an eye on Caleb and Caduceus, she drew what she had seen in that moment and wrote a question for the Traveler: How did you find the Wildmother and bring her to save Caduceus?





	Traveler Walks Away

**Author's Note:**

> For @Natashagalya on Twitter 
> 
> Thank you for your support!!

When she first left home, Jester was completely shook. She understood why her mother wanted to send her away, to protect her from the lord who wished her head on a pike; she understood why the lord wanted her head on a pike, as well, being trapped on a balcony wearing nothing but a girdle in the middle of Nicodranas in the early afternoon certainly wasn’t her own idea of fun, but doing it to someone else was technically a different story, technically... None of that shook her. 

No, what Jester was scared about, what frightened her deep into her core, was that her best friend in the whole world, the only person besides her mother she could talk to about anything and everything... The idea that he may not be able to find her and still be friends with her... 

That she lost her connection to the Traveler was the most frightening thing she could think of. 

Thankfully, after a few well-done pranks and a chance meeting in the Pillow Trove some weeks after leaving home, Jester’s fears were put to the side and she was elated once more; he could still find her, and talk to her, and give her comfort and advice. 

Even when the Traveler didn’t come to help her when she, Fjord, and Yasha were kidnapped, while she lost some of her hope in him, when she found out Mollymauk was dead and gone... The Traveler consoled her. 

After nearly drowning and Fjord saving her with a life-giving kiss, Jester’s time on deck with Fjord during the jellyfish migration had made her heart dance, and she drew it in her sketchbook. And when the Traveler finally came to visit her in the bowels of The Squall-Eater, she talked to him about it, as well as the state of him. 

“Traveler, why are you all wet?” she asked him, looking at his dripping cloak, sagging in the few spots it normally would drape in delicate folds. “You look like you had to swim out here, which is kind of silly.” 

“Oh, well, sometimes the magic doesn’t always work quite as well on a moving vessel, you see,” he explained, a jovial lilt in his voice. “I missed the boat by a little bit because it shifted before I could land.” He pat her head, then asked her to make him something with her new art tool. 

It was only after they talked about the upcoming gathering and him vanishing again that Jester realized she just found out he was fallible. 

Eventually it slipped from her mind as the Mighty Nein continued their pirate adventure, revealed Captain Avantika’s plots to take over the oceans using Uk’otoa’s powerful boons, and were banished from Darktow. Upon leaving and finding Twiggy stowed away in their ship, and falling into the Happy Fun Ball of Tricks to fight a young blue dragon, Jester’s heart fell when everyone else was gone, and she was beaten bloody on the verge of death, the Traveler helped protect her, raising her shield to deflect the dragon’s attack, allowing her time to escape. 

It was quiet from the Traveler for a few weeks as they trekked to Nott’s hometown and learned of her and Caleb’s intertwining pasts, prompting them to search for Nott’s, or Veth’s, husband in Xhorhas. The trip was long, her drawings numerous though similar to one another in her sketchbook. Making it to Assarius and taking on a couple of jobs gave her something to do, but when Nott loosed her arrow and killed the incubus, accidentally killing Caduceus in the resulting explosion, Jester felt her heart sink. 

“Um, Traveler, tell the Wildmother... that Caduceus needs help,” she prayed, pulling out her diamond and holding it to Caduceus’s stilled chest. She had been drawing in her sketchbook, praying to him, talking aloud to him, and hoped that he would come through for her in her desperate hour. She didn’t mind being a cleric, she loved it in fact, but Caduceus’s calming presence helped the entire group to be better people, and she didn’t want to lose that, or lose another friend especially when she could do something about it this time. 

“I’m proud of you,” came his whispered praise in her ear, cloaked hand and arm reaching out with her to the shattering diamond dust, collecting it, wielding it. She looked up in time to see what she could only guess as the Wildmother herself, a gorgeous matronly face, soft and gentle smile, reaching out with her to Caduceus’s chest to provide her own energy to as the diamond dust settled on his chest, disappearing into Caduceus. When he took his first breath after the spell, Jester turned around to look at the Traveler, but he was gone. She returned her focus to her friend and telling him who she saw. 

That night in her sketchbook, as she was keeping an eye on Caleb and Caduceus, she drew what she had seen in that moment and wrote a question for the Traveler: How did you find the Wildmother and bring her to save Caduceus? 

A warmth filled her as she laid down to sleep finally, even in the damp cold of the well. A voice drifted to her, almost wordlessly, familiar, and she found herself dreaming vividly. She was somewhere distant, far beyond the shores of Wildemount and possibly an entirely different plane. 

She strode along a beach of fine pearl-like sands, ocean stretching endlessly in one direction, a beautiful tower upon the ground reaching to the sky in the far distance. She started towards the tower, hours upon hours passing as she weaved through stones, never once feeling that the tower was ever closer. She looked back to see how far from the beach she had managed to walk; it was only a stone’s throw behind her yet. She climbed onto a rock and searched her pockets for her magic paintbrush, intending to create from the stone another little shrine for the Traveler. 

“I wouldn’t do that here,” he said, his hand stilling hers from behind as she began to reach out with the brush. 

“Traveler!” Jester pocketed the tool and clasped her hands behind her back, swaying back and forth with glee. “I didn’t know you were going to be here! Where is here, anyways?” she asked, but he didn’t respond; rather, he motioned for her to follow him, starting towards the tower. “I was walking that way for hours and I didn’t get any further than here!” she complained. But the Traveler seemed to effortlessly walk closer to the tower, beckoning her again. 

When Jester caught up to him, he smiled warmly, placing a hand over her eyes with a gentle caress; she closed them instinctively, and giggled when he took her hand, leading her forward. After a few minutes, they stopped. 

“You can open your eyes, now, Jester,” he said softly, and she did; the tower loomed overhead, casting no shadows, as if the light was ever present. 

“Whoa, how did you do that?” she asked, eyes wide in disbelief. 

“I... have been here before, I learned how to approach the tower,” he said with a slightly forlorn grin. “This is the Island of Renewal, on the plane of Elysium. I came here some time ago to seek aid with... well, a friend of a friend, you could say.” Warmth enveloped Jester as the tower before them shimmered, disappearing. “I was perhaps a bit naïve, thinking we could complete the task set before us. But it worked, surprisingly. And I paid my dues to the one who gave me the ability to help; actually,” he mused, another wry smile forming on the exposed portion of his face, “I am still paying those dues.” 

“Traveler, what do you mean by that?” Jester asked, squeezing his hand in her own. “I don’t understand.” 

“It’s not important. What is important, Jester, is that you be careful,” the Traveler sighed, letting go of her hand. “I only get to spend so much time in Exandria, so every second I am there I must be working towards a specific goal, which is why I have you and the rest of my followers. You are all very important to me, and I need to make sure each one of you is staying on your path, protected.” 

“So, so, how did you find the Wildmother? To save Caduceus?” Jester asked. “I wrote it in my sketchbook and I am really curious how you were able to find her so quickly.” 

“I called in a favor,” he shrugged, stepping forward. Jester followed, the scene before them shifting a little from the grassy plains to a lush forest of deep greens, golden rays of sunlight filtering through to dapple the undergrowth. “The Wildmother has another name, the one I knew her by back then. Melora. She allowed my friend to borrow a... a very powerful artifact of hers.” 

“Like what? Do you have something I can borrow? Was it a weapon? Was it a cloak? Was it a pastry?” Jester questioned him, skipping alongside as they made their way through the trees. 

“No, but it helped us complete our task. And that task, well,” he smiled at her again. “I had the distinct pleasure of meeting many gods and goddesses after the task was done, and many of them said they would assist me in whatever small ways they might be able to, and the Wildmother was more than willing to lend some energy to bringing your firbolg friend back. She needed to give him a message anyways, so she told me it was a free favor this time.” 

“That was pretty cool of her. She’s very pretty, too,” Jester giggled. The Traveler nodded a little. “So, uh... Is this a dream? Because if it is, I won’t really remember anything when I wake up.” She stopped in a small ray of dazzling light, basking in the warmth. The Traveler took a few paces ahead, then stopped to look at her. 

“Is that so?” he asked, flashing her a smirk. “Maybe it’s a dream, maybe it's a vision. I guess you’ll find out when you wake.” He turned around again and continued forward, vanishing behind the trees. 

Jester woke up, feeling more at ease about their situation in Xhorhas than previous nights. She gave Frumpkin a scritch under his chin in greeting. He mewled at her and walked off, stopping a few paces away to look at her. Jester busied herself with getting ready for the day, but Frumpkin was under her hand again, demanding her attention. She gave him another few pets and he darted away. This time when he meowed at her, he also bit and tugged on part of her dress. 

“Okay, okay, do you need me to follow you to go poop, or something?” she laughed, standing up and following him. He led her not too far away, but pawed at something on the ground. She picked them up, turning the lightweight feathers in her hands. One was sleek and black, and later she would find a hint of a rainbow effect when the sunlight hit it just right. The other was a brilliant blue color that matched her skin and dress. “Ooh... Now I have feathers like Nila and Beau!” she giggled, pocketing them and heading back to the group when she heard them begin to stir. 

As she rejoined the group, Jester again felt the comforting hand of the Traveler on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

**Author's Note:**

> Natasha requested a drabble about the Traveler being Vax'ildan. I took that and ran with it, with the idea that the astral plane, when you actually live there, is like the Feywild, that time between it and the material plane were not in sync. So he has lived hundreds of years in the astral plane. Flitting between the two could make one a little off their rocker.
> 
> If you want me to write you a drabble as well, feel free to support me at http://ko-fi.com/costumersdelight !


End file.
